Promise
by twenty3
Summary: Songfic. Matchbook Romance's 'Promise.' NickGreg slash.
1. Broken

**Disclaimer - Don't own CSI or Nick, Greg, Warrick or Catherine. Or the song...that belongs to Matchbook Romance.**

**I wrote this a while ago an just found it, so I decided to post it. My first attetmp at slash.**

**Promise**

Nick was staring at the computer screen in front of him. He was supposed to be running the prints he'd lifted from a desk, but he couldn't concentrate. Warrick had noticed his best friend acting weird all shift, so he decided to see if he could help. He walked into the print lab and pulled a chair up next to Nick, who seemed like he hadn't even noticed anyone else was there.

"Nicky...are you okay?" Warrick asked. Nick's eyes dropped from the screen to the floor. Tears were starting to build up in his tired eyes.

"No, I'm not." Nick said quietly. He stared at the floor and tried his hardest not to breakdown and cry.

"What's wrong bro?" Warrick was beginning to get scared. He didn't know what to expect Nick to say, but he knew it wouldn't be good.

"Everything." Nick choked out. He closed his eyes and a few tears fell. He took a deep breath and looked up at Warrick. The look in Nick's eyes made Warrick's heart sink. He hated seeing his best friend in so much pain and feeling so helpless.

"It's gonna be okay Nicky..." Warrick started, trying to soothe him, but was cut off.

"No, it's not. I fucked everything up. I...I was just scared, I didn't know what to do and now I lost him." Nick's head fell into his hands.

"Lost who?" Warrick was trying to mask his confusion, but it wasn't working too well.

"Greg. We were...together but then I fucked it all up cuz I'm an idiot and can't do anything right..." Nick couldn't hold it back anymore. The tears fell from his eyes, down his cheeks and collected in the collar of his dark blue shirt.

Warrick pulled Nick into a tight hug. He was getting more and more confused with everything Nick said but was determined to help him. "It's okay Nick...calm down and tell me what happened buddy."

"It's kind of a long story..."

"I'm in no rush bro."

"Okay..."

_"Nick...when can we tell them?" Greg didn't understand why Nick wouldn't tell his friends they were dating._

_"I'm not like you Greg...I'm just not ready yet."_

_"Are you ever gonna be ready?" Greg was starting to get annoyed. They had been seeing each other for a little over a month and Nick still wasn't 'ready.' When Nick didn't answer, Greg decided to push harder. "It's me isn't it?" Nick looked up at Greg. "You're ashamed of me, don't want people to know you're dating the crazy ex-labrat who's a CSI wannabe."_

_"Greg...that's not it. We're co-workers, and both guys. It's just a little complicated."_

_"No it's not, you're making it complicated. I love you and you love me, why is that so hard?" Nick looked down at the floor, avoiding Greg's eyes. "Nick...You love me right?" Nick was doing a good job of pretending his floor was interesting. "Look at me." Nick looked up at Greg and sighed. "What is this to you? What am I to you?" Greg wasn't angry anymore, but he could feel his heart breaking._

_Nick looked back down at the floor and quietly whipsered, "I don't know."_

_Greg's eyes filled with tears. "What do you mean you don't know? It's been over a month...were we just fucking for fun?" Nick looked everywhere but at Greg. "Nick...you need to tell me. I can't be with someone who's ashamed of us."_

_"I'm not ashamed of us G. I just don't know what to do."_

_"About what?" Greg's heart was breaking a little more with everything Nick said. "A month ago you were all cute and happy we were together...now you don't know...don't know what Nick?" When Nick didn't answer, Greg gave in. He let the tears fall. "Nick, do you want to be with me or not."_

_Nick was getting irritated. He had had a long shift, and all he wanted to do was come home, curl up with Greg in his bed and go to sleep. But now he was being interrogated and accused...he was way too tired for all this and he knew he was gonna end up saying something he'd regret. "Greggo..."_

_"Answer the fucking question Nick. Do you want to be with me or not?"_

_"I guess not!" Nick yelled, surprising himself. That was it. Greg felt his heart shatter. The guy he had fallen desperatly in love with had led him on, only to break him down. Greg turned and left without another word._

"And I haven't talked to him since." The tears were falling faster from his eyes and he felt sick to his stomach.

"Then go talk to him." Warrick said. "It's been obvious to everyone for a long time you two are perfect for each other, we were just waiting for you to figure it out. If you're this worked up over loosing him, don't let him get away."

"He hates me."

"No he doesn't. He's just heartbroken."

"I was a jerk...he's never gonna wanna talk to me again."

Warrick firmly put his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Do you love him?"

Nick looked up at Warrick. "Yeah...yeah, I do."

"Then you owe it to him to at least tell him so he knows. What's the worst that could happen?"

"You're right...I'm going to talk to him...it's his night off so he should be home." Nick got up and left the print lab, but as soon as he walked through the door he turned around. "Can you..."

Warrick cut him off. "I'll take care of the prints, and Grissom."

"Thanks." Nick turned and ran down the hall, almost knocking Catherine over.

"Where the hell is he off to?" She asked Warrick, who was smiling widely.

"To talk to Greg."

Catherine's lips formed into a smile of their own. "I knew it! Sara owes me 50 bucks. But why did Nick look so sad earlier?"

"They got in a fight, but I have a pretty good feeling everything's gonna be okay."


	2. Never Let Go

**I couldn't get the lines to the song to line up under each other, so I did the best I could and just centered them. I know it looks weird, but it's what it says that matters.**

The loud knock on the door interrupted Greg's dream of Nick. It was a good dream, but when he woke up he remembered the fight and the fact that he obviously didn't mean as much to Nick as he did to Greg, so he decided he wouldn't sleep anymore if he kept dreaming of Nick. Greg got up with a groan and shuffled to the door wearing only sweatpants. He could honestly say he was not expecting Nick to be standing on the other side of the door. _'Am I still dreaming?'_ Greg thought, so he pinched himself. _'Ouch...Nope, not a dream. Seems more like a nightmare anyway...'_ Greg didn't say anything because he was afraid he was gonna say something along the lines of _'I hate you'_ or _'Go fuck yourself'_, so he just stared at Nick. When he didn't say anything either, Greg tried to shut the door but Nick pushed it back open.

"I need to talk to you." Greg just left the door open and walked over and sat down on the couch. Nick let himself in and shut the door behind him. Nick took a deep breath and sat down next to Greg and looked into his deep brown eyes. Nick's eyes hypnotized him, so Greg didn't move when Nick grabbed his hand. There was a long silence where they just looked into each other's eyes before Nick spoke.

_What would you say_

_If I asked you not to go?  
__To forget everyone _

_Forget everything _

_And start over with me _

_Would you take my hand _

_And never let me go?  
Promise me you'll never let me go_

"Greg..." The sound of Nick's voice brought Greg back to reality. He was sitting on his couch, holding hands with the guy who had broken his heart.

"Nick...please." Greg cut him off. His voice was a little higher than normal and his hands were shaking. "Don't do this to me again. I can't take it." He tried to get up, but Nick pulled him back down.

"Just...listen to what I have to say." Greg looked into Nick's pleading eyes and all he could do was nod.

_Now the stars aren't out tonight _

_But neither are we to look up at them _

_Why does hello feel like goodbye?  
These memories can't replace _

_These wishes I've wished and dreams I've chased _

_Take this broken heart and make it right_

"I know I messed up. I was scared...I don't know why. I'm not ashamed of us or you."

"Then why wouldn't you tell our_ friends_ about us? Or answer me when I asked you what I meant to you?" Nick let his eyes drop to the floor.

"I don't know." He whispered.

Greg shook his head and stood up, ripping his hand from Nick's. "That's not good enough Nick. Do you have any idea how much this hurts? You mean so much to me, and yet somehow I mean absolutly nothing to you. I know how stupid this all may sound, that I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but it is a big deal. You're a big deal to me Nick. It's amazing how easily you broke my heart but it's cuz I love you so fucking much it hurts, but you can't even look at me." Nick looked up at Greg to see tears in his eyes. "What am I to you? Another notch in your belt? Someone you can have sex with, but as soon as something more starts happening you bail? You may be able to do that, but I can't. I need you Nick. All of you." Greg closed his eyes and let the tears fall. Nick slowly got up and walked over to Greg and gently wiped his tears.

_I feel like _

_I lost everything when you're gone _

_Left remembering what it's like _

_To have you here with me _

_I thought you should know _

_You're not making this easy_

Greg openened his eyes and met Nick's. Nick put his hand on the side of Greg's face and gently rubbed beneath his eye with his thumb. "Greg, I mad the biggest mistake of my life when I let you go. I wasn't sure what you meant to me, but now I know."

"It shouldn't have taken me walking out to get you to realize that."

"What do you want me to say G? That I can't live without you? That's not true. I can live without you...I just don't want to." Greg's hands stopped shaking and he once again let himself get lost in Nick's eyes.

_I never thought I'd be the one to say _

_Please dont _

_Well please don't leave me _

_I feel like _

_I lost everything when you're gone _

_Left remembering what it's like _

_To have you here with me _

_I thought you should know _

_You're not making this easy_

"You're the best thing that has ever happened to me. When I'm with you, I feel like I've never felt before. I thought I was afraid to be with you, but that's not it. I'm afraid to walk out that door and never feel ever again the way I do when I'm with you. Knowing I hurt you is the worst feeling in the world."

Greg took a step back from Nick. "I can't do this again Nick. At first everything's fine...then you don't know what you want. What if you change your mind again?"

Nick closed the gap between him and Greg by pulling Greg closer to him by his hips. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to wake up everyday and find a reason to get up? After I was buried and then Kelly killed herself and everything was supposed to be over...I didn't think I could do it anymore. I didn't want to, giving up seemed so much easier. You became my reason everyday to get up. Even if I couldn't have you, we were still friends and I got to see you everyday. But now that I had you and felt what it's like to loose you, I'm never living like that again. Loosing you hurt more than being pushed out of a 2 story window, being eaten by ants or pulled out of a coffin by your belt. I can't loose my reason to get up...I can't loose you."

_Take my hand and never let me go _

_Take my hand and never let me go _

_Promise me you'll never let go _

_Never let go _

_I'll never let go _

_You'll never let go _

_Make this last forever_

Nobody said anything for a long time. Nick finally gave in and figured Greg needed some time alone, so he hugged him. As he began to pull away, Greg pulled Nick back against him.

_I feel like _

_I lost everything when you're gone _

_Left remembering what it's like _

_To have you here with me _

_I thought you should know _

_You're not making this easy_

"Nick...Promise me this is it. That it's you and me now and nothing's gonna change that."

"I promise Greggo. There's nothing I want more than to be with you." Nick ran his hand through Greg's hair, then leaned in and kissed him softly. He gently slid his tongue over Greg's lips, then over Greg's tongue. The kiss was perfect...long and soft. When it became a necessity for them to breathe, Nick pulled back and began kissing Greg's neck. He ran his hands over Greg's scared back. Greg wrapped his arms around Nick's neck and ran his hands through his dark hair. They went into Greg's room and layed down on the bed. Nick pulled Greg as close as he could to him. Greg let his head rest on Nick's chest. Nick intertwined their fingers and wrapped his other arm around Greg's waist as he kissed the top of Greg's head.

"I love you Greg." he whispered against Greg's soft hair.

"I love you too."

_I'll fall asleep tonight _

_Cuz that brings me closer to you_


End file.
